The Forgotten Zodiac

((I try. -hugs- I'm sorry you didn't go where you wanted to, but it's okay. It's not the end of the world, yeah?))

"No," Verolen shook his head. "There's one on your forehead, though...don't worry about it, buddy. I've got some scars worse than that." He smiled a bit, leaning against Bermuda and closing his eyes tiredly. "I'm...I dunno. I feel like something is wrong with me. I haven't felt...right...since I woke up. I died so many times...too many times, maybe."

((Yeah. I suppose. -huggle-))

Bermuda sighed softly, closing his eyes as well. "I'm sure... when I get to feeling a bit stronger, I can help you out a bit with my magic, yeah? Do you think that will help?" he asked. One hand drifted up to brush his bangs over his forehead - part of him still clung to the small hope that the others wouldn't be able to tell what exactly had happened to him. It... was a bit too early for him to talk about it, and he didn't want too many questions yet.

((And like I said, you'll always have your internet friends no matter what~ That's what's great about us. ;D))

"Maybe." Verolen sighed. He knew the signs of trauma; he wasn't going to pester Bermuda about what all had happened. He understood torture well enough, although he suspected that the spell had been to do something specific. The pain had just followed. But no matter...as mentioned before, Verolen wasn't going to pry or ask anything. He just wanted his friend to be and feel better.

Bershee did not take kindly to waiting around. She wasn't tired; she seemed to have boundless amounts of energy for swimming. After a few long minutes, though, she pulled herself out of the water; her tentacles shrank, making a small, poofy black skirt that led into a black bodice with strap-sleeves. Her feet looked normal, but were bare and looked like they had never seen a thorn or scrape. They were sensitive.

"Are you boys done yet?" She sighed at them, wringing water out of her long hair.

((Friends. :D))

Bermuda looked up, a sheepish smile on his face. "Yes, sorry," he said, slipping back into the water. "Are we still going to swim?" he asked a moment later, wondering if he was going to have to haul himself back onto land again.

"You can walk if you want. I'd rather not, though. I'm not used to my human form, seeing how I spent most of my life in water..." Bershee sighed, shaking her head unhappily. "It doesn't matter. Walk if you want to."

"I'd rather go by water," Bermuda said. "It's easier for me," he added. He looked to Verolen. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked.

"No, go right ahead." Verolen shrugged, shaking his head. "I'll be fine. I can jog for another long while, but I hope we find the others soon." He stood again and started stretching. "I'm ready. Whenever you are."

Bermuda nodded and slipped underwater. Then, he resurfaced. "Coming, Bershee? I could use the help," he said.

((Want to time skip to the others, or did you have a plot twist in mind? I'm fine with skipping.))

((I was going to have the soldiers show up right when they arrived, but you can do what you want. xD If you wantted to add sometihng, go~))

((Newp. Let's just get to the others.))

Byrne swung his lance in lazy circles at his side. "Think there'll really be Oceanids to fight?" he asked. He hopped from foot to foot, limbering up in case there was a fight ahead. "I mean, would they really follow them all this way?" he asked.

((Okaaaay.))

"Maybe. Who knows? It's their prince, and their senators that they're obeying." Rush shrugged. "It works how it works. Maybe they'll come, maybe not."

"We'll see," Aries sighed, her foil ready.

Byrne nodded, then looked back for a moment to watch Gabe and Quay. It seemed the two had become somewhat-friends in their time at the Manakete Palace, and they were currently catting away and looking at the pictures in Gabe's book.

Aries smiled as she watched them; it was good to see her son getting along with someone else and having a friend. Friends were important.

"Is that Verolen?" Rush pointed out, squinting at the treeline. "It's someone, that's for sure. Jogging this way..."

"Verolen!" Arachne recognized at once, and tried to stand and hop towards him. She, however, nearly fell in the river; she would have done so, if not for a couple tentacles whipping up and pushing her the other way, so she fell on the ground.

"Here we are. You lot must be the good guys, judging from how...unequipped and disadvantaged you seem." Bershee stuck her head above water, lifting Bermuda's face above the surface as well.

"Bermuda!"

L'arc nearly jumped into the river to greet his friend. Bermuda gave him a wan smile and paddled over to the bank, holding out his hand to the forest prince. L'arc hauled him out of the water, his grin fading a bit as he saw the scars forming on Bermuda's body.

"What happened to you?" he asked, worry creasing his face.

"...I..." Bermuda trailed off, looking aside.

"The senators had him. I was trying to sell Verolen off, but they attempted to murder me. So I swept in and snatched them both out of the senators' grip. Serves him right, too." Bershee tutted.

"You were trying to sell Verolen?" Aries snorted unhappily.

"A woman's got to eat." Bershee 'hmph'ed.

Bermuda nodded in agreement with Bershee's explanation, not wanting to go into any more detail.

L'arc, however, was very bad at receiving these non-verbal hints. "The senators? What did they do to you?" he asked. Bermuda addressed him with a strained look.

"Torture," Verolen grunted. "The kind that could tear out your soul if you suffer long enough." He stated simply, patting Lar'c on the shoulder.

"I guess you can tell us more later. We should probably get a move on." Aries shrugged.

"What? Where are we going?" Verolen frowned.

"Back to Oceanica. Byrne and Verdi are still there."

Bermuda tensed, both at how close to the mark Verolen's simple guess had been, and at the notion that they had to go back to where he had just escaped from. He seemed to struggle a long time to form a sentence, to put his fears and objections into words, and finally was able to muster a meek "P...pass."

L'arc almost laughed. "What did you just say?"

"I don't want to go back."

"Understandable. We can get you teleported back to the castle." Jerod nodded. "Verolen, do you want to go with him?"

"Yes. But at the same time...no. I want to help you lot..." Verolen thought long and hard about it. "I'll go back with you."

"It's okay. We won't think ill of you if you want to stay." Jerod said quietly.

"I'll...I'll think about it."

"I, in the meantime, suppose I should follow you for awhile." Bershee stepped out of the water, wringing water from her hair again. "You seem to know what you're doing. Might as well follow along."

"Thank you," Bermuda murmured quietly, then turned away, trying to be inconspicuous. Gabe trooted foreward, though, getting the feeling that something was wrong, and took Bermuda's hand in his. The warlock said nothing as Bermuda's fingers curled around his in response.

L'arc nodded to Bershee. "Glad to have you," he said, smiling. "My name is L'arc. I'm the Forest Prince," he said.

"Byrne," said the human, smiling as he slung his lance over his shoulder. No enemies had appeared, so he relaxed his guard.